"10 Real Life Heroes Who Helped Bill Finger Get Credit" (Screen Rant)

On Screen Rant, Tim Davis has posted an unranked list of people who helped Batman co-creator Bill Finger receive official credit in 2015 (41 years after Bill died and 76 years after Batman debuted). 

The list:

11. (honorable mention) Bob Kane (with a nod to Thomas Andrae); mention is fine, honorable doesn't track

10. the one I live with (see below)

 9. Jerry Bails

 8. Michael Uslan

 7. Jerry Robinson/Carmine Infantino

 6. Lyn Simmons

 5. Charles Sinclair

 4. Travis Langley

 3. Alethia Mariotta

 2. Fred Finger

 1. Athena Finger

First official Batman-related credit for Jerry Robinson

The Joker is not the first Batman antagonist to headline a standalone live-action movie. (Catwoman beat him by 15 years.)

Yet Joker, which opened today, does have a significant first up its sleeve: Jerry Robinson, early Batman ghost artist and co-creator of not only the Joker but Robin, is finally credited—and on equal footing with Bob Kane and Bill Finger. No "with"!

The three Jerrys

My school presentation includes both Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman and Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, which means the audience must keep straight three Jerrys:

• Jerry Siegel, co-creator/original writer of Superman
• Jerry Robinson, early ghost artist on Batman/co-creator of Robin and the Joker
• Jerry Bails, first known person to interview Bill Finger, revealing him to fandom in 1965

 Jerry (Siegel)

 Jerry (Robinson)

Jerry (Bails)

Bill Finger’s Coney Island contribution to Joker

Multiple sources, including Bill Finger’s son Fred and Carmine Infantino, claimed that Bill derived some inspiration for the Joker from a grinning figure at Coney Island, in Brooklyn—specifically at an amusement park called Steeplechase Park.

Here is how I think the clown went down, though the proper order of the first two is lost to time:

• Bill mentioned the grinning character he saw at Coney Island to the Bat-team (Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson).
• Bill showed the team a photo book featuring Conrad Veidt in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs.
• Jerry designed the Joker caricature that would appear on his signature playing/calling card.
• Bill wrote the first Joker story in late 1939 or early 1940. The character looked primarily like Veidt with an aura of the Steeplechase mascot.

But I’m not aiming to start a debate. Rather I recount this simply to set up an image that I was jazzed to see.

DC Comics will be reintroducing a Harley Quinn series. And the first promo (possibly cover) image released features a fun nod to history that many will not pick up on…but those who do will, well, grin.

Jerry Robinson previously unpublished interview, 6/9/06; part 3 of 3

Part 1.

Part 2. 

Where did [Bill Finger] do his research?

We’d go to the library. We’d go to the newsstands. Movies. Park. Everywhere.

Did he carry with him a notebook and a pen and jot things down in movies and places like that?

I don’t remember him doing that. I think he would clip things in that extensive clip file when he read things. Anything that he thought might be useful.

He clipped out things from magazines?

Yeah.

But he wasn’t jotting things down all the time?
 
I don’t remember him doing that. But he had a great memory so he probably didn’t have to.
 
[asked about the two blizzard stories that were similar enough to seem like the same event, yet still different: one in Batman and Me, one in Men of Tomorrow; Jerry’s response (part verbatim, part paraphrased): “Bob was full of crap” (laughs); he probably read that, that’s what he did all the time—read a story, adapt it as his own, “I never heard that story before”; Jerry mentioned the “preposterous” interview Bob gave to Jerry Bails where he said Bill Finger didn’t create anything—anyone who would say that is capable of anything; “I’m probably the one who gives Bob more credit than anybody”; I asked Jerry about the sketches dated 1/17/34 and how Gerard Jones said they were fabricated; Jerry agreed and said another Bob lie was that he said he went to anatomy classes] 

There’s this convention in 1965 where Bill first publicly spoke about his involvement. Were you there?

I don’t remember if I was there or not.

There was a panel that you were not on, but maybe you were there.

I might’ve been there, but I don’t have any specific memory now.

Did you ever go to a convention with Bill after that?

I can’t remember ever doing that.

So you never got to see Bill interact with fans?

If I was at that one, I might have, but I don’t remember generally, no.

Was he funny in person?

He could be. We joked a lot.

But was it a defining characteristic of him in person?

I wouldn’t say defining.

Did you ever play golf with him?

No.

Or tennis?

I don’t know that he played tennis. If he played tennis, I’m surprised I wouldn’t have [played with him], because my thing was tennis. 

Was he already married when you met him?

No.

Did you guys ever go try to pick up girls together?

No, I think early on he fell in love with Portia. I don’t know where they met, actually, being she was way up there till she came to New York. I think pretty early on, because I was still on Batman in this instance where I told you when he stopped and called Portia. [After he?] married, I don’t know that he ever fooled around. Not to my knowledge.

Sorry, I wasn’t implying that. I just thought if he wasn’t already married…

No, I understood what you said. I think he very deeply loved Portia. She was a fighter, she would call me and rail against the injustice done by Bob. She hated it.

When did they divorce?

I don’t know when they divorced. I wasn’t in touch with them at that time. And when I did find out and talk to Portia, I was very surprised.

Because you never saw signs of that?

No.

[asked him about comment he made in Comics Journal that Joe Shuster did marry at one point]

In his later life, yeah. At the end of his life, the last few years. Married in California.

But then divorced because I think he was a bachelor when he died?

Were you in touch with him at that time?

I was in touch with him but I didn’t meet her. Jerry and his wife knew her very well.

Do you know how long Joe was married?

Not exactly, but it wasn’t too long. [unintelligible] …few years. 

Do you know what Bill thought of Jerry and Joe going after the rights to Superman?

I don’t remember discussing it with him specifically, but I can’t imagine he would be other than supportive or happy about it.

Do you think it ever gave him a kick to try to do that himself, get some rights to Batman?

He might’ve entertained it, but I think he was so beaten down, and without resources, and without any seeming legal avenue to do it, he probably never thought seriously.

Were you in touch with Bill up until his death?

Sporadically. He would visit here. For a while, I was sharing an apartment with another writer, just before I got married. And he collaborated with him on various things. Mostly for television, I believe. And so they would write up here in my apartment and I would see him then. And then on a few other occasions. I’ll tell you something but it’s not for print.

Okay.

[redacted]

Do you remember how you heard that Bill had died?

I don’t know if I read it or somebody called me, I’m not sure.

Were you at his funeral?

No, I never knew that there was one. Usually, DC has a service, but they never had one for him. They had one for Siegel and Shuster and I attended each one.

Where were their funerals, by the way?

I don’t know if they had a public funeral as such, but we had a special service at DC.

For both of them?

Not together, each one.

Do you know where Bill is buried?

No, I don’t know that, either. It may be that nobody survives who does know. That’s possible.

[I say that Freddie’s friends might know but I don’t how to find them…though eventually, I did find some; Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman reveals what happened to Bill after he died...he was not buried...]

I never knew the service for Portia. I was never called. And I knew I was one of the closest friends.

You weren’t called when she passed away?

[inaudible no]

If you were doing this book [on Bill] yourself, who would be the main players?

The editors at DC and some other editors. But on a personal level he might have had some other friends I don’t know of, some school friends. Portia. His son. [something including “myself” and “Bob”] …the editors at DC we dealt with, mostly [Mort] Weisinger and [Jack] Schiff.

…

[Bill] created most everything for [Bob]. He definitely was a full co-creator. I think he had more to do with the molding of Batman than Bob. He just did so many things at the beginning. As an artist, I can appreciate what goes into that. Aside from creating almost all the other characters, creating the whole persona, the whole temper, the history, origin of Batman. Everything. It made it a success from the beginning.

Anything in particular about Bill that you think kids would find interesting?

[unintelligible] …how widely read he was and how he would absorb everything and you never know how something he read would turn up in the feature. He was very hard-working. [unintelligible] …one of the best writers in the business, certainly at that time. … As you probably know, it came hard for him. He was always late in deadlines. Maybe some of his personal life interfered with that as well, but I know a lot of times it was due to his painstaking work, that he wouldn’t hand it in until he was satisfied with it. And they would never appreciate the time and effort he put in, even though they were benefiting from it and it made the feature so great. But he couldn’t help himself. He would slave over it. He was not a natural writer in the sense that it would pour out.

How did he influence you?

In many ways. I was an aspiring writer myself at that time. That’s what I intended to be. Fortunately, as my career went I was able to do a lot of writing. So his approaches and inventiveness, his creativity, humor, I appreciated his injection of that to humanize the strip and Batman. His idea of introducing Robin to humanize Batman enlarged the plot potential, the parameters of the strip. I think a lot of his reading went into the creation some of the great villains that he molded, like the Penguin, the Riddler.

Anything else about Bill that I didn’t cover?

He suffered a lot. And that’s sad. He didn’t deserve it. He was a very fine guy and a very fine writer and a good friend. 

What I’d like to do is, I mean, you’re the legacy, and if this gets together, I’d like to show you what I wrote. It’ll be as short as what you read, the Boys of Steel book. (laughs) It won’t take much of your time. I’d welcome all your feedback.

Yeah, I’d appreciate it before it’s published.

[NOTE: Sadly, Jerry died in December 2011, six months before the book came out.]

Jerry Robinson previously unpublished interview, 6/9/06; part 2 of 3

Part 1.

When was the first time you guys [on the Batman creative team] started to feel like celebrities? Was that a feeling back then or not quite that early?

No, not generally. The only time I felt like a celebrity was back in my home town. A local celebrity.

Can you think of any anecdotes about Bill that you haven’t told anybody else? Something that gives a little bit of texture to him, like a joke that he made or something that he once did that made a big influence on the strip?

If something pops to my head, I’ll tell you.

Did you know his parents?

No.

Did he ever talk about them?

Not very much.

And he didn’t have siblings, right?

No, not that I know of. 

[NOTE: turns out he did]

Did you know [Bill’s son] Freddie?

I knew him when he was a baby. He was a, you know, uh…he was a…Batman was long gone—Bill was long gone before he grew up to know anything about it.

[NOTE: Jerry’s timeline was off. Bill died in 1974, the year Fred turned 26.]

You mean before Freddie knew what was going on?

Yeah.

So you never saw Freddie as an adult?

No. I may have once. I was trying to think of that the other day. I know I spoke to Portia about him several times. I can’t remember meeting him. If I did, it wasn’t very much.

Do you remember Bill talking about him?

Only as a child, when he was young.

Was Freddie born while you guys were already working on Batman?

No, I think he was born later, as I recall? At least it might have been after I had left Batman, not Bill.

And what year did you leave?

I left about ‘47.

Was Judaism important to Bill?

Not that I recall.

Do you know what his inspiration was for his oversized props? You drew oversized villains on the covers. I was wondering if that might have influenced him or he influenced you?

I also drew oversized props. I haven’t thought of where that began. I know I used them in my covers ‘cause I tried to do very symbolic covers and splash pages if you ever looked at them. I never tried to do a literal theme.

So you don’t remember where you guys—

[unintelligible] track it down. I know he had employed them in his scripts. I would hesitate to take credit for them, but who knows, I might have done [here?] without even thinking of it, [thinking?] of doing a symbolic cover, you know, obviously has part of the symbolism.

Did you guys ever have a moment where you felt, to use a modern word, “cool”—like if you were on the street and you saw some kids eagerly buying a Batman comic?

Yeah, I would say that might have occurred. I [could] remember that, yes. It’s kind of marveling that it was so part our culture already.

Do you have a specific incident in mind?

Not with Bill… [tells the Cuba story that’s also in one of his Alter Ego interviews]

What did Bill look like?

[NOTE: At the time of this interview, I’d seen only the two regularly republished photos of Bill, neither of which was an especially clear likeness; I went on to uncover close to a dozen others.]

He was not tall. I’m not tall either but I think he might’ve been a little shorter than me. I was like five eight 5’8” or something. I think he was [slightly?] shorter. He was a little stocky—not heavy. Strong. As you probably know, he loved golf.

Was he balding?

Not at that time.

But later?

Later he was.

Did he have a certain style?

No, I don’t think he was that concerned with fashion. I think it was just everyday stuff.

What did his workspace look like?

He worked in his apartment. The times that I visited he and Portia there, it was just a part of the living room, but he may have had a study, I’m trying to remember now, with files. I think he did, because he had extensive files.

In filing cabinets?

Yeah.

And back then they were probably wood, right?

I would guess. Although we had steel files then [too]. We’re not talking about prehistoric times. (we both laugh)

Part 3.

Jerry Robinson previously unpublished interview, 6/9/06; part 1 of 3

In 2006, I had the privilege of interviewing Jerry Robinson, one of the earliest ghost artists on Batman and a true class act, in my research for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.

I ended speaking with him multiple more times, including once at his New York City apartment, which was chockablock with priceless Golden Age art and other mementos.

Most if not all of the numerous interviews I conducted for the book contain gems that did not make it into the book, so here is my chance to share them nonetheless. Upon rereading them, I am surprised how much info they contain that I had not—and still have not—read elsewhere.

So this is the first of a series. The interview is transcribed (and slightly edited) from a recording, as with the upcoming interviews in this series (Shelly Moldoff, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Alvin Schwartz, Joe Kubert, Arnold Drake, Carmine Infantino, Irwin Hasen, plus Bill’s second wife Lyn Simmons and her son Steve).

How did you meet Bill Finger?

I met Bill Finger I think the first time at Bob’s apartment when I first joined the team. He introduced me to Bill when I joined Batman. It was only a couple of months after it started.

Did you get a different impression from him than you did from Bob?

They were definitely different personalities.

How would you describe Bill’s personality?

Bill seemed very soft, kind. Not outgoing. Reserved but very easy to get to know. He wasn’t standoffish…

Did you become friends?

We became fast friends. He actually became my I say cultural mentor. … Remember, I was a 17-year-old kid. Just graduated high school. I knew nothing of New York. I was still going to Columbia, studying journalism, and commuting from my little room in the Bronx. Bill introduced me to everything in New York. Museums, galleries, movies. I soaked everything up like a sponge. I was fortunate that we hit it off. Personally, I think we each appreciated each other’s contributions.

Do you remember what you talked about besides the work?

Everything. Bill was widely read. He also was interested in everything, as I was, in learning everything. And he had very good taste. I don’t know how he was introduced to all these things himself, but he certainly knew them. [unintelligible] …the Metropolitan, MOMA, and foreign films, and other talks and things around town. The galleries.

Did you ever meet his friends who were not in the industry?

That’s a good question. I don’t remember. I knew his wife very well.

Is that Portia?

[unintelligible but affirmative] When he was first courting Portia, I think she came from Rochester was it? Or Albany? You probably know… [unintelligible] Before I met her, he was going with her … I remember several occasions where we’d be going out for lunch or dinner and he’d stop and say “I’ve gotta call Portia.” He’d get in the phone booth. At that time, they had the Superman-type phone booths. I’d stand and wait for him. He had endless conversations with Portia on the phone.

Was she interested in his work?

Yes. She knew what he was doing intimately. They were very close. She was a very intelligent gal. Once she came to New York they were married. They were both friends. I would go out to dinner with them, just the three of us.

Was she more dominant or more outgoing than he was?

I guess maybe in those terms, somewhat. She wasn’t [unintelligible]. She was very articulate and expressive.

What did she think of his work schedule? He was working late into the night.

We all did. (laughs)

So she just accepted it.

Yeah, I’d say so. [goes on in mumble about how some writers were night owls, some morning people]

Was Bill allowed to tell people that he was writing Batman?

They couldn’t stop him from talking to anybody. I think any of us knew…well, of course I knew. His name wasn’t on the feature, obviously.

If his name wasn’t on the feature and he said he wrote it, would people be suspicious?

I don’t think so. I don’t think anybody would just make that up. [unintelligible] They knew every strip wasn’t done just by the author, or the artist signed his name in many cases.

What was Bill proud of?

I think he was proud of his work. He was a very careful craftsman. He was proud of his creation. All of us were. I think that was part of the tragedy of Bill, as it was Siegel and Shuster, that they weren’t credited with their genius.

Do you think that shows a lack of business savvy on Bill’s part or did he just accept that that’s how things were?

Well, he was naïve, as most of us were. If we knew then what we know now, it’d be a different story. I might be head of Warner Bros. We were dealing with very wise publishers who had dealt with artists and contracts before. Some of these cases [were] the first thing they ever sold. It was the beginning of the industry.

Did Bill ever originate a character without an artist?

He wrote many television scripts, and I think even a couple of movie scripts.

That was later in his career, right?

Yes. He worked for a lot of publishers so I’m sure he had a hand in creating a lot of the characters.

[I mention Green Lantern, Wildcat, and he says he doesn’t know others besides those I mentioned]

Do you know if Bill read any fan mail?

I don’t think we were privy to it. I don’t they generally showed us the fan mail. We knew it was popular in sales and so forth, but that wasn’t gotten into until later. [mentions Stan Lee developing rapport with readers]

Would you describe Bill as one of the guys? If you ever went out with a group, was he chummy and social and making jokes?

The apartment I shared with Mort Meskin and, before he left to the army, Bernie Klein, it was kind of the hangout for [contributors who were near?] DC. Bill would be a frequent visitor. I think I have a, one of the books you have, you know, where people who visit draw a cartoon or…

Like a guest book?

Yeah. And there were usually crazy drawings or serious or whatever. And the old girlfriends would write in it.

You have it still?

I have [something, yeah?].

So Bill’s writing is in it?

I’m pretty sure he’s there saying, uh…we [sounds like “found” but might be “had”] a dart board on the wall. I remember that was a pastime for everybody. We challenged…in darts. I think Bill wrote something that was like “Damn it, Jerry, beat me again.”

[NOTE: Bill’s page is reproduced in Bill the Boy Wonder…and the original suffered a sad fate.]

Would you shoot around Batman ideas while you were playing darts?

We would always be…you know, if [we weren’t on another topic?], we would do it in social [situations with?] other artists around, unless we were talking about comics. But Bill and I, and sometimes we were with Bob, we would always be kicking around ideas. We used to live, breathe, eat, and sleep Batman. [Wild age to be in?]

Part 2.

Batman is not the lead

Jerry Robinson, one of the first (and best) ghost artists on Batman, who passed away in 2011, was a member of the National Cartoonists Society.

For a time, so was I.

And so I was given a copy of the NCS membership album (50th anniversary edition, no less). 

Robinson had a long, renowned career—so long and renowned that he did not mention Batman till halfway through his NCS bio! 

Imagine having a string of accomplishments so impressive that you don’t lead with the fact that you drew the first Joker story…

We all miss you, Jerry. You were truly the goldest of the Golden Age.

Only known surviving note that Bill Finger wrote

Much has been made (by me, anyway) about how few photos of himself Bill Finger (uncredited co-creator of Batman) left behind upon his death in 1974.

Early on, I realized something that was even scarcer: Bill’s handwriting. We have plenty of Bill’s writing, of course, but almost all of it is fictional (and typed).

But what would a personal note that he wrote reveal?

The only sample of his handwriting I’d seen was his signature on a 1963 note that Mike Catron had posted:

 
I’m no handwriting analyst so I can’t say what the curvature of his penmanship suggests about his character. Still, it was exciting to see it…until I learned of something better. Far better.

In 2006, early Batman ghost artist and Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson told me that he still has a guest book from an apartment he shared with other comic book artists in the 1940s. He said it’s filled with comments (and sketches!) by an A-list who’s who of the Golden Age (my phrasing, not his). And he said that includes Bill Finger.

On 8/12/06, when I went to Jerry’s to talk more about Bill, I asked to see the guest book. It is a peerless trove of off-the-grid comics history that would give whiplash to any fanboys with a sense of posterity. Some of the pages were loose and I urged Jerry (not that he needed a reminder) to continue to keep it safe so one day a copy of it might be shared with fandom.

Jerry generously allowed me to copy Bill’s page. I won’t yet say more about what Bill wrote because the page appears in its entirety on the last page of my book.

 
What I can say is how glad I am that I copied it when I did.

In 2010, I asked Jerry if I could re-copy the page because we needed a more high-res scan for reproduction (when I first copied it in 2006, I had not yet written the book and was so excited to get permission to copy the guest book page that I didn’t think of print quality).

I was aghast to learn that the guest book had since gone missing.

Later that year, the book resurfaced…but Bill’s page was still missing.

I suspected the book had been sent out to be scanned for Jerry’s autobiography (which came out in 2010) but couldn’t believe anyone involved could have been careless enough to let this happen. (And ultimately the Bill page did not appear in the autobiography.)

In any case, this unfortunate fluke made me the only known person in the world with a copy of this note. And as far as I know, I still am.

Incidentally, I have also dug up some personal (but typed) correspondence of Bill’s, featuring not only more signatures but some fantastic, previously unknown insight into Bill’s personality—including a Bob Kane moment that will make fans cheer. But this, too, will have to wait until my book comes out—one of those letters is quoted there, and the rest I will post here.

12/5/16 addendum: what else Bill Finger left behind.

"Comics Interview Super Special: Batman—Real Origins of the Dark Knight"

This 1989 edition of David Anthony Kraft’s magazine comprises a meaty collection of material that alternately bolsters and insults Bill Finger.

Here are a few examples, most from the Bob Kane interview:

• The names of all the main players are bolded—except Bill Finger’s. Surely only an oversight, but a disappointing (and odd) one.
• Bob did not even know when his onetime partner died: “I guess in the ‘60s.” (Correct answer: 1974.)
• Bob: “I’m a very honest person with a lot of integrity” (Correct answer: No, you weren’t.)
• Shockingly, Bob is quoted as saying this: “Bill Finger created some of the villains: I believe he created Penguin. Catwoman, I think he came up with. I came up with the Riddler and the Joker. Maybe Penguin was mine—time erodes the memory.” He uncharacteristically credited Bill with creating Penguin and Catwoman but then slipped back into his familiar refrains—and even took back what he just gave.

In one respect, Bob is right—time does erode memory. However, that’s a convenient cover. Bob had been laying claim to most everything Batman all along, so this vagueness seems even more insincere than usual.

Elsewhere between the same covers is the lone print interview with Bill’s son Fred; in it, Fred relays the story he’d been told of how his dad (and mom!) created the Penguin. Jerry Robinson has credited Bill with creating all of the classic villains except the Joker (see next paragraph); in any case, there is no question that Bill wrote the first Joker story. And no less reputable a source than editor Julius Schwartz gave Bill sole credit for the Riddler.

Later in the issue is an anecdote about Bill telling DC Comics writer/editor/continuity guru E. Nelson Bridwell that he recalled when an excited Jerry Robinson told him (Bill) about a new character called the Joker. Bill liked the idea but not the playing-card-styled drawing and produced a photo of Conrad Veidt in the 1928 silent film The Man Who Laughs—which does strongly resemble the Joker as he looked in his debut and subsequent early appearances.

Given Bridwell’s legendary encyclopedic comics knowledge and what seems like a reputation for integrity, this seems like a particularly reliable account of this oft-disputed creation story.

Jerry Robinson, pioneering Batman artist, 1922-2011

It was my great honor to know Jerry Robinson (early Batman artist; co-creator of Robin and the Joker; brave advocate for Superman creators Siegel and Shuster), who passed away on 12/7/11. New Year’s Day would’ve been his 90th birthday.

Many others have already paid tribute to him knowledgeably and beautifully, including Ty Templeton (artist for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman), so all I can add is my brief personal experience with Jerry.

From 2006 (over the phone) to this summer (on camera, for a documentary), he selflessly spent hours telling me about his old friend Bill Finger. One of the most poignant surprises (and fluky twists) in my upcoming Finger book is thanks to Jerry.

At times Jerry would call me—to ask for my address to invite me to an exhibit opening, to ask if Bill’s second wife should be invited to the Bill Finger Awards. I was always surprised he remembered who I was. I suspect dozens of new people thrust themselves into his life each week, and somehow he managed to keep them straight and make time for all of them. I’ve speculated more than once that Jerry probably gave at least one interview a day.

He was a class act in every direction, to all of us whose paths were lucky to cross his. His contributions were not only artistic but altruistic. He didn't need a cape to be a crusader.

You'll still be expected at my book's launch party, Jerry, and now I'm counting on you to bring Bill, too.

Jerry Robinson in "The New Yorker"

The corresponding text is announcing that he's giving a talk tonight at the School of Visual Arts.

Bill Finger as told by those who knew him well

Early Batman artist/ambassador of comics Jerry Robinson on Bill: “Very soft, kind. Naïve, as most of us were. Not outgoing. Reserved but very easy to get to know. We became fast friends. He actually became my cultural mentor.”

“Father of Fandom” Jerry Bails on Bill: “Bill was an avid reader and fan of good fiction, popular fiction, and action movies. He surrounded himself with artifacts and books he loved. He was not a braggart, but was clearly pleased to talk about his creations. He appeared to be more like most comics fans in terms of personality. He lived more in his imagination than in the world of hard knocks. He was not a joke-maker, but he enjoyed telling stories about how he worked. He was very dedicated to his craft. He was not shy, but he would defer to others in conversations. I’d call him considerate and the opposite of overbearing. I had no trouble believing everything he told me.”

Bill’s second wife on Bill: “Very, very warm, very sincere, very hard-working, even though he had problems meeting deadlines. He had a good sense of humor. He was very interested in the theater, and ballet, and classical music. He wouldn’t write any violent comic books. He gave an awful lot of thought to writing.”

Longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair on Bill: “He was the opposite of a sourpuss. Without being wildly jovial, he was a funny guy. Great sense of humor. Liked to joke. He was extremely well read. He deserved a lot better than he got. I enjoyed knowing him, and I miss him.”

Me on Bill: “I miss him, too, even though I never met him.” 

Most of these recollections are culled from personal interviews I conducted. The last two lines of Charles’s comments are paraphrased from Alter Ego #84, 3/09.

Jerry Robinson on Bill Finger biography

In the interview pioneering Golden Age Batman artist Jerry Robinson gave The Comics Journal in conjunction with his recently released biography Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics, he is asked if he feels any other comics creator of his era also deserves a book:

Maybe a biography of Bill Finger, the writer. Somebody might be working on one. I hope they do.

I've interviewed Jerry myself for that very project, multiple times, starting in 2006. As most anyone in comics knows, he's an unwavering gentleman; for example, in the Comics Journal interview, I think he was simultaneously giving a little plug for and being protective of my book. (I don't think he knows that it has already been announced; it's due out in 2012.)

I don't mean to make more of that minor mention than it merits. But with all that Jerry has to keep track of in his 88-year-old mind, he still was able to allude to my book without giving more away. I am impressed, but given his classiness, not surprised.

Fingering through the dictionary

The story goes that back in 1939, cartoonist Bob Kane called writer Bill Finger with a barebones idea for a new character name of Batman. (Some say Kane didn’t get past calling him Birdman or Bird-Man, but that’s a topic for another post.)

The story continues that Finger went over to Kane’s apartment to help Kane improve the character. (In The Steranko History of Comics, Volume 1, Finger himself is quoted as saying that.) Seeing Kane’s design (which you’ll read more about in my upcoming book), Finger said it didn’t look intimidating enough to merit the “bat” motif.

So he pulled a dictionary from the shelf to show Kane the picture of “bat,” after which he (Finger) suggested that this character rock a cowl with pointy ears, like the real deal.

Inspired by pop culture writer/designer Arlen Schumer, I wanted to pinpoint just what stippled drawing Finger and Kane would most likely have been referring to; Schumer hunted that bat for an article for Alter Ego (reprinted in The Comic Book Artist Collection, volume 1) and found this:

To pull tight the timeline, I contacted Merriam-Webster. The company confirmed that the most recent edition in 1939 was the 1937. Upon request, they kindly e-mailed me scans of various angles including the cover, spine, and “bat” spread. I wanted these so I could pass on the authenticity to the illustrator of my book.

Here's the cover:

Here’s the spread:

But a throwaway detail in this Finger/Kane dictionary story has long tripped me up.

The location of the dictionary.

No, not that it was on a shelf.

That it was in Kane's apartment.

As Will Eisner said and multiple others echoed in their own words, “Bob wasn’t an intellectual.”

This is not to imply that only intellectuals own dictionaries. But it doesn't take a detective to figure out that Finger, a voracious reader in continual pursuit of self-education, was more likely than Kane to have one at the ready.

On 6/19/07, I asked early and pivotal Batman artist Jerry Robinson if he thought Finger would’ve gone to Kane’s apartment that day, or vice versa. Jerry wasn’t there but he met and began working with both men later that same year, the first year of Batman, so he knew them as well if not better than most at the time.

I didn’t indicate what I was getting at by asking, yet Jerry was a bound ahead. He said that if a dictionary was on hand, the apartment had to be Finger’s.

Which had been my hunch as well.

Only one other source I’ve found has Kane going to Finger’s for that fateful costume fitting—an article by Gerard Jones, author of Men of Tomorrow, that ran in The Times (London) in 2005.

I don’t know if that was an intentional flip-flop on Jones’s part; it’s unlikely any firm proof exists, so perhaps he was simply making the same assumption Robinson and I did.

Saving the Boys of Steel: part 2 of 2

"Reporters don't like being interviewed."

That's from an e-mail John Sherwood sent me on 8/26/06. I'd asked him if I could ask him questions about his role in landing Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, co-creators of Superman, a settlement for life in 1975. If you've read Men of Tomorrow recently, John's name may seem familiar, but he's been on my radar since long before that.

While good man Phil Yeh was the first journalist to pick up on Jerry's press release and write about the sad state of Siegel and Shuster, John was the journalist who broke the story on a national level. I learned of John's article—and later learned it was the first in a series of articles—when, circa 1988, I read an essay on the origin of Superman written by Dennis Dooley published in a book called Superman at Fifty.

John's newspaper was the now-defunct Washington Star. After John's articles, other papers (including the Washington Post) began to cover the story, too.

But the Star is not a paper, I found, that is widely archived. I inter-library-loaned copies of several of John's articles. Here's the first part of the first one:

I thought that finding those articles would be easy compared to finding John himself. Googling his name alone would, of course, produce hundreds of possibilities. The Star ceased publication in 1981 so I didn't think there'd be much trace of it online.

However, I Googled his name and the name of the paper together, and a bio of him came up. He'd written a book (about Maryland) and edited a magazine (about sailing), so I contacted the publishers of both. Someone at the book publishing company gave me his number and I called him.

I gushed that I consider him as important to the Superman story as two high-profile names who did selfless work on Siegel and Shuster's behalf, artists Neal Adams and Jerry Robinson. John was predictably humble though I tried to talk him out of that.

Nearly two years went by before I finally sent him interview questions. (I didn't remind him that "reporters don't like to be interviewed.")

Whether or not he remembered that comment, he obliged graciously:

For those not familiar with your link to Siegel and Shuster, could you please give the capsule summary?

I suppose I got on the Siegel and Shuster trail because of plans to make a Superman movie. I called DC Comics as step no. 1 and also got in touch with some comic book historians (all this before Google). [NOTE: see third question.]

John Sherwood early 1980s; photo courtesy of John Sherwood

Were you a Superman fan before you wrote your Siegel and Shuster articles?

I read comics as a kid and especially loved the crooked "S" on S's long blue underwear. I was a fan of Captain Marvel, too. I liked to draw and would unmask heroes such as The Phantom and The Spirit and anyone else wearing an eye mask by simply copying the face and leaving out the mask. Then I would look at how the artist drew eyes and simply sketch those in, a simple task. And, of course, I wore a cape and thought I could fly with it.

Do you remember your reaction upon first reading Jerry Siegel's long press release?

I don't recall Siegel's "long press release."

Did you know no other paper had yet covered it?

I didn't have a clue if any other paper covered the story.

Was your editor immediately keen on running the stories?

My editor immediately jumped on the idea. In those long-ago days at The Washington Star (1962-1980) I always came up with my own ideas because in that way I was assured of doing what I wanted to do. The editors kind of let me roam and do what I wanted to do. I also wrote about The Spirit for The Star and covered the artist doing the last strip of Joe Palooka. I was a great fan of radio, too.

Were there any details which your editor did not want to include?

My editors let me alone and never changed my copy, although they may have asked a few questions.

What was the public's reaction to your articles?

The public, as far as I was concerned, never reacted much to anything although there may have been a couple letters to editors re: Superman story.

Did you hear from DC Comics?

Never heard from DC Comics, except when I got a press release announcing the (meager) pensions. Big hearts, those corporate types.

Has anyone else ever contacted you to ask about your Siegel and Shuster work?

No, no one else I can recall. It was a long time ago.

What was your proudest moment with regards to your Siegel and Shuster work?

Having the story splashed on the front page (bottom) and, more importantly, Siegel and Shuster getting recognized with a pension. I am happy I was of help to "the boys." It is a great human interest story to begin with.

How did Jerry and Joe respond to you and your articles about them?

I used to receive a Christmas card every year from Joe for a long time; nothing from Siegel, as I recall.

Are you a Superman fan today?

Not really. I follow Doonesbury, but not for the art. Few comic artists were as good as Hal Foster and The Spirit's gifted creator, who also had a great sense of humor.

John Sherwood today; photo courtesy of John Sherwood

What are you doing these days?

In 1997 I became a senior staff writer at Soundings, a national recreational boating magazine published out of Essex, Connecticut. I semi-retired in 2005 but continue to write a monthly, full-page personal column about sailing and my sailing experiences entitled "Bay Tripper." I have never missed a column in all those years. I sail and single-hand the Chesapeake Bay out of Annapolis, where I keep my classic fiberglass sailboat—a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Sailmaster 22 built in Holland in 1962. Named Erewhon. I am a widower and have lived in the same house for 44 years. I have three sons and one grandchild.

10/2/21 addendum: Today I learned that John died on 12/7/16. Sail on, storyteller.

Saving the Boys of Steel: part 1 of 2

As you will read in Boys of Steel, 1975 was a pivotal year in Superman history.

That year Jerry Siegel turned 61 and resumed his mission to secure financial security from his co-creation. But that time, for the first time, Jerry did not sue. Instead he sent out a press release to hundreds of outlets. He wanted his and Joe's story to be told in the mainstream media. Then public pressure might get him and Joe what decades of litigation had not.

Trouble was, no reporters called.

Until Phil Yeh, publisher of a local newspaper in southern California. At the time, Phil was not much older than Jerry had been when he conceived Superman.

Phil assumed he would have to get in line to interview Jerry, but he became the first person to write on the Siegel and Shuster plight.

I consider Phil one of the two most significant yet unheralded people in the seventies segment of the Superman saga. He's now a friend and he kindly agreed to an interview about his role in nudging Jerry and Joe toward the Christmas 1975 settlement that changed their lives. As for the other person, he's also a friend now and his interview is my next post.

For those not familiar with your link to Siegel and Shuster, could you please give the capsule summary?

In 1975, I was publishing an arts newspaper in Long Beach, California called Cobblestone which later changed its name to Uncle Jam and continued through the 1990s. We did our typesetting at the Marina News, a local paper in the Belmont Shore area of the city (I also worked at the Marina News for a few years). Helen Arterburn, the editor of the Marina News got the press release from Jerry Siegel and thought that I would be interested in the story since she knew that I drew cartoons and often had done interviews with cartoonists.

Phil Yeh and friend 1974; photo courtesy of Phil Yeh

I recall that the press release was single spaced and obviously from a man who had been wronged by a big company. As I read through the whole thing which was several pages long, I too felt anger at this injustice to someone who had created Superman. I actually sold a gag to DC Comics when I was 14 and got a check for $5 and all my friends in Los Angeles thought I would go on to work for them when I grew up. It was very ironic that when I started to meet people who worked for Marvel and DC at the very first San Diego Comic Con, I quickly saw how the real people were treated by these companies and made a vow to just publish my own work. 

So getting this press release at the age of 21 was a very big deal to me. I had started publishing my own work professionally at the age of 16 but was still young enough to get angry about things like artists rights. Now, I have become used to big companies ripping people off. Anyway, I called Jerry and arranged to interview him in his place in Los Angeles.

Were you a Superman fan before you wrote your Siegel and Shuster articles?

I didn't grow up reading many American comics. But when I was in junior high, a friend gave me a few hundred DC comics so I started to catch up on the DC titles for a few years. I stopped reading most comics when I started to draw professionally a couple of years later.

Did you know no other paper had yet covered it? If not, when did you find out?

When I got to Jerry's apartment (I am pretty sure he lived in an apartment)—I naturally assumed that the rest of the media was covering the story. He told me that I was the first one to call and do the interview—at that point I could not believe it. I was very young at the time and would learn soon enough that most of the press doesn't cover most of the good stories until someone else does. Journalism in this country has gone steadily downhill ever since.

What was the public's reaction to your articles?

Even with only a few issues of our paper published (we were monthly), we had already figured out that other reporters and editors from the news media in Los Angeles (our paper was distributed through libraries, independent bookstores, museums, etc., from Santa Barbara to San Diego each month) often read the stories we covered and magically, once we covered something, they would do the same piece in much bigger papers. This was fine with us, we were a group of independent writers, artists, and photographers who just wanted to make the best paper possible, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Once the LA Times picked up the piece, the rest as they say was history.

Did you hear from DC Comics?

I called them right after I came back from Jerry's place. I wanted to hear their side of the story and I wanted to see what pressure I could put on them. The executive I spoke to was aware with the Superman movie coming out that this story had to have a better ending than what Jerry was presenting. He called me back shortly after the story ran with news of a settlement of sorts.

Has anyone else ever contacted you to ask about your Siegel and Shuster work?

The guy who did the Men of Tomorrow book [Gerard Jones] and sadly he got some critical facts wrong. I am not Filipino nor have I ever smoked dope. We joke about it but I would love to have the truth be printed especially because the subject we are dealing with is about the truth and the "American" way and justice. All the ideals that Superman stood for so I guess one can see the irony pretty easily here.

What was your proudest moment with regards to your Siegel and Shuster work?

I was just glad to have a chance to help two men who really were treated badly in an art form that I love. Over the years, I have been good friends with many artists who labored for these comic book companies and animation studios and were cheated all over the place. It makes me sad and sick and angry to see good people brought down by these lying greedy people. I am very lucky, I work for myself most of the time and have been always able to speak freely. Obviously DC and Marvel aren't calling me these days.

But as for taking credit for what we did or being proud, I never publicly made a big deal of what we did. I never bothered to tell my story in the comic book press and for years always read that Jerry Robinson (a very nice man whom I have met) and Neal Adams were the heroes here. Perhaps in my middle age, I have started to clarify what we did to just be fair to myself.

How did Jerry and Joe respond to you and your articles about them?

I can't recall anything special happening after we did the piece. I don't think that they owe me anything. I was acting as a journalist and covering a story, really nothing is expected when one is in that role.

Are you a Superman fan today?

I will always be a fan of any character created with heart. What I don't enjoy is all these characters who simply look the same and who do nothing for me as an artist. I guess I am old fashioned in that regard.

What are you doing these days?

For the last 23 years, our group Cartoonists Across America and the World has been traveling around the world promoting literacy, creativity, and the arts. Our tour started in 1985—Charles Schulz was the first cartoonist to endorse our campaign—and continues through 2010. A full 25 years of my life. In that time we have painted more than 1,800 murals around the world and spoken to hundreds of thousands of kids of all ages about the creative process and the importance of artists owning their rights.

Phil Yeh today; photo courtesy of Phil Yeh

I often mention Jerry and Joe's story but not my involvement in the saga when speaking to kids. What I want young people to know is that people like Jerry and Joe were young when they created one of the world's greatest superheroes. I want to inspire kids to do things when they are young and that is the lesson there. I also encourage them to turn off the electronic nonsense that fills their lives and to read and to write and to draw and most importantly to dream. 

I have also written and published more than 80 books in the last 38 years including one of the first modern American graphic novels in 1977. That is another true story that we have been correcting in the last few years since so many people in the comic book press are strangely afraid of telling the whole story.